Shoe last



'Pgter lt C a nc el1ed. by Court.

E. A. EASTMAN.

SHOE LAST. APPUCATION FILED SEPT-13,1920.

1,418,546. a ented J ne 6, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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40 improve the process and mode of shoelasts for reshapn'w, whereby aniaX|.-'

nan-Est anneal/IAN, or rearsnoorn, onto.

snon kis'r.

' Application. filed September T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I En:vns'r A. Eas'rnan, a citizenof the UnitedStates,resid1ng at Portsmouth, in the county of Scioto and 5 State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe Lasts.of which the following a specincation.

My invention relates to shoe lasts, and' particularly to a method ofreforming old The styles of shoes change rapidly- These changes arefrequently very marked, as from a flat pointed toe to a higher andbroader toe and from one havin :1 hi h' I I 4 15 heel necessitating a.marked spring to the .toe, to one having a lower heel and having lessangularity or spring of-thesole, and

vice versa.

It is a comparatively simple matter to return a last having a large toeinto one oi less height and narrower or more pointed outline, but whenthe change involves an extension or enlargement of the last,considerable difliculty has been experienced.

The present scarcity'and high price of ma terials suitable for lastmaking is an incentive to the conservation of such material byrebuilding, and shaping those lasts whit-h may not be worn out, butwhich have become obsolete through change in style of shoes.

The expansion of lasts and other bodies by the insertion of shuns orwedges," driven into saw kerfs, cut in the last has heen attempted, butthe difliculties of sucressfully carrying out the operation and thelosses incident to the splitting of the last has been such as todiscourage the re-use of obsolete lasts.

The object of the present invention is to preparing mum degree ofexpansion may be effected .with minimum losses, through splitting orother damage to the last, and which "Wlll afford a completed rebuiltproduct, substantially equally as strong, as the original last, andcapable of an. extended period of usefulness.

A further object of the. invention is to pro 0 vide reenforcement forthe renewed last, and p "to further provide means for checking'orintercepting the splitting tendency and to! increasing theflexibility of the last segment to facilitate the insertion of theexpanding shims.

ipepification of Letters lkitent.

dental objects in. view as will more Patented June 6. 1922. 1520. Serial1%. aeeew. Y

With the above primary and other incifully appear in the speeiiication;the invention consists of the features of constru'ctionyand the modeof'operation or their equivalents as hereinafter described and set forththe el aims.

- Referring to the drawings, l ligi l is a bot tom plan view'of narroworpointd toeshoe last prepared according to the herein described..niethod to receive the expanding shims, Fin; 2 is perspective "viewotthe 'shoe' last, showing inserted therein the expansion shims forbroadening the todand also raising the same and a transversereentioroing dowel, priorto the reshaping of the last. Fig. is a likeview of the same last upon the completion of the reshaping operation. 'l'igz. 4 is aho-ttom plan view of the last shown in Fig. 1 after theinsert tron. oi the expanding shims. Fig. 5 is aside elevation of a lastillustrating thginsertion .of a shim for decreasing the spring of thetoe, to accommodate the last to a shoe having a lower heel. i

Like parts are indicated hy similar characters of reference. throughoutthe several views. f

In the accompanying drawings, .1 is'a shoe last oi the ordinary pointedtoe now ohscfiete, which it is proposed tojfe xpand,

and reshape into a usable last 'ot'}current style.

In order to expand or broaden thetoe of the last. two divergent sawkorts 2 and 3 ha e been provided extending inwardly as to leave anunsevered portion of the material. which serves to integrally retain thelast segment. and which is by the insertion of the shims 4 and 5. One ofthe dit'tioulties heretofore experienced is the tendency of the last tosplit in con yieldingl'y tinuation of the kerfs 2 and 3 through theunyielding character of the remaining unsevercd material between theterminations of the kerfs. The destruction of such a large proportion oflasts, due to this cause has rendered the renewing of lasts a ratherprecarious undertaking.

In the present instance this difficulty has been overcome by providing ahole 8, ap proximately at the projected intersection of the kerf, thatis to say, at a. point at which the kerfs would intersect if projected,or substantially in the lineal direction of the grain of the last block,from the termination of the insert receiving kerfs 2 or 3. While thishole 8'is preferably located in spaced relation with both the insertreceivlng and clearance kerf, it may be located at the extremit of theinsert receiving kerf and intersecte by such kert as shown at 8, inFig. 1. This hole in any event inter sects a split, which may bedeveloped in the last and by the severance of the separating fiber, itarrests the splitting tendency. and suliiciently weakens the connectingportion of the last to enable the flexing of the lateral segments. Itwill be obvious that the fibers of the last remaining intact upon theopposite side of the hole 8 from any split de veloped by the insertionof the stem will not readily yield or permit the continuation of suchsplitting action beyond the hole.

The shims 4 and 5 are tapered or wedge shaped pieces of wood or othermaterial, driven lengthwise into the saw kert's '2 and 3, therebyforcing the lateral segments outwardly and expanding or broadening thetoe of thelast. This outward deflection of the lateral segments of thelast is compensated for by the closing of the transverse or angularlydisposed clearance kert's 6 and 7.

In order to raise the heights of the toe an additional kerf 9 is cuthorizontally from the toe of the last rearwardly substantially parallelwith'the bottom or sole. This toe elevating kerf is preferably cutsubsequent to the insertion of the expanding or broadening shims 4. and5, and extends through such shims. A co-actin clearance kerf 10 is cutacross the top of t 1e toe, at a substantially mid-point between the tipand the comb of the last. To check any splitting of the last, and toincrease the'flexibility of the top segment, a hole is boredtransversely through the toe of the last at 11 in proximity tothetermination of the toe elevating kerf 9. This transverse hole maybeintersected by the kerf 9 or the hole may be in spaced relation with theend of the kerf in the lineal direction of the grain of the last,therefrom. A wedge shaped shim 12 is then driven into the saw kerf 9,which elevates the top segment of the comb of i the last substantiallyclosing the transverse misses lcerf 10. It will be understood that priorrated portionset the last and the inserts or shims are firmly andsecurely united one to the other. To further strengthen the last,reenforcing it against separation of its parts. and strengthening it tocompensate for the various saw cuts made therein, dowel pins 14 areinserted and securely. glued or cemented in the holes 8, 8' and 11.These dowels not only close the holes, which after the insertion of theshims have served their usefulness, but restore the original strengthand durability of the last. The inserted shims and expanded segments ofthe lasts are then reduced and shaped to the desired contour, producingin the renewed last, an enlarged sole, having a con tour agreeing withthe modern style and materially different from the flat narrow toe ofthe obsolete last operated upon, While the operation heretoforedescribed and as illustrated in the drawing, pertains to the enlargementof the toe portions of the last on1y,-it will be obvious that otherportions of the last may be modified by the same method, whereby theshape and contour of the heel may he changed, the comb of the lastheightened or the extreme thin comb last of recent years materiallythickened. The process to be employed is the same as before described,the difference being merely in the location of the saw kerfs. In eachinstance the use of the hole, which checks the splitting tendency andincreases the flexibility oi the connecting portion of the last will hefound of material advantage and perform its function as beforedescribed.

A common modification is to reduce the spring of the last to accommodatea lowered heel. Such a renewal is shown in Fig.

'5, wherein the insert receiving kerr' 15 is provided across the top orinstep of the last and the clearance kerf 16 is substantially in linetherewith, but in the bottom or sole of the last. The terminations ofthese hcrt's are separated by an intern'iediate uncut portion of thelast, in which is located a trans verse hole 17. This. hole may be inspaced relation with both of the kerfs or may he intersected by theinsert receiving kert' 15,

which latter location is preferred in this aziness The driving of a shimd8 into the kerf 15 deflects the toe of the last downward therebychanging the angle of the bottom or sole of the last after which thelast and insert are dressed to uniform contour and re.

shaped into the renewed torn.

While 'the process herein-described is primarily intended tor-therenewal of shoe 1asts,'in which at the present time, it finds its widestrange of usefulness, the process is not'liiiiited 'toshoe lasts alone,butmay be employed quite generally in the reformation,

renewal and expansionolf'. v'ari oi'is articles .is susceptible ofmodification in its form.-

-pr0portions. detail construction and arrange ment of parts withoutdeparting from the principle involved or sacrificing any of itsadvantages.

While in order to comply with the statute the invention has beendescribed in language more or lessspecitic as to structural features, itis to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificdetails shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosedcomprise but one of several modes of putting the invention into eiiect,and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms ormodifications with the legitimate and valid scope of the appendedclaims.

' Having thus described my invention, I- claim:

1. The herein described method or altering wooden objects, wherein ashim. is driven into one of two kerr's. the innerends of which approachinto approximate relation one to the other. characterized by providing ahole in the body in juxtaposition to the approacl'iing ends of thelterfs by which the resistance to flexing action of the at tached'portion of the section defined by the kert's. is decreased andincidental splitting of the body minimized.

25 A wooden object having therein two keri's. the inner ends of whichextend into approximate relation one with the other, and a shim insertedin one oi the lteris to expand the body by dcflccting a section thereofdefined by said hcrt's, characterized by having a hole formed in saidbody' in juxtaposition to thc'adjacont ends of the kert's and cxtcndingsubstantially parallel with the plancs of the ltcrt's.

I). A wooden body having therein two kcrfs co-acting to define aflexible section of a, The herein described method of reins 'lorcing'a'n altered wooden body Wherejinfa.

spreading wedge has been inserted .kert, to expandv the body,characterizedfby inserting m sa d body a dowel arranged in: v

substantially parallel relation with thepla of the inserted spreadingWedge and approxiiiizite relation to the apex thereof;

A shoe last, the toe porton of which is provided with tworearwardlyextending divergent slots and wedge shaped shims inserted in said slotsdeflecting the lateral portions of the last in opposite directions inrelation with the medial body portion thereof.

6. A. shoe last having in the toe portion thereoi. rearwardly extendinghorizontally and vertically disposed intersecting slots and wedge shapedshims inserted within the intersecting horizontal and vertical slots toexpand the last toe vertically and laterally. I 7. The herein describedmethod of altering shoe las 5 consisting in providing rear- Wardlyextending divergent kert's in the toe portion of the last to formlateral yielding tongues and deflecting: saidi tongues outwardly byinserting in said kerfs Wedge shaped shims whereby the greatest de reeof expansion will be effected at the forward extremity of the last.

8. The herein described method of altering shoe lasts consisting inproviding in the toe portion of the last, a. rearward extending her.inserting in said keri't' a spreading wedge torrnin' in said toe portiona second lzei'l interse mg the plan of the first mentioned lccri andinserting a second spreadinn wedge in said second kerf.

9. A shoe last having slots formed therein extending in intersectingdirections, but terminating in spaced relation one with the other. saidlast, having a round hole located in the intervening portion of the lastbody in proximity to the terminals of the slots whereby the flexibilityof such uncut portion of thebody is increased, and a wedge shaped insertrlriven in one of the slots thereby displacing the portion'bt the bodyintermediate the slots by flexing: the body in the vicinity of the hole.and a dowel subsequently secured in said hole.

ii). A wooden body having therein a saw kerl substantially parallel withthe grain of the body to receive an expanding wedge, and a dowel pininsertcd in said body in the plane of the licri', and in proximaterelation to the end thereof.

11. The process of preparing wooden bodies for reshaping includingproviding therein a saw kerf, substantially alined with my hand this24th dey of August, A. D. the-grain of the body to receive a spreading1920. Y wedge, providing in approximation to the termination pf thekerf, a hole in the plane ERNEST A. EASTMAN. 5; of the kerf andinserting a dowel pin in said Witnesses: v

hole. EDMUND J. KRICKER,

In testimeny whereofl I have hereunto set M. LOUISE BALMER'I.

DISCLAIMER.

1,418,546.Emest A. Eastman, Portsmouth, Ohio. SHOE LAST. Patent datedJune 6, 1922. Disclamer filed January 20, 1926, by the patentee. Herebyenters this disclaimer to that part of the claims in said specificationwhich are in the following words, to wit: a

5. A shoe last, the toe portion of which is provided with two rearwardlyextending divergent slots and wedge-shaped shims inserted in said slotsdeflecting the lateral portions of the last in opposite directions inrelation with'the medial body portion thereof.

6. A shoe last having in the toe portion thereof rearwardly extendinghorizontally and vertically disposed intersecting slots, and wedgeshaped shims inserted within the intersecting horizontal and verticalslots to expand the last toe vertically and laterally. a

7. The herein described method of altering shoe lasts consisting inproviding rearwardly extending divergent kerfs in the toe portion of thelast to form lateral yielding tongues and deflecting said tonguesoutwardly by inserting in said kerfs wedge shaped shims whereby thegreatest degree of expansion will be effected at the forward extremityof the last.

8. The herein described method of altering shoe lasts consisting inproviding in the toe portion of the last, a rearward extending kerf,inserting in. said kerf a spreading Wedge forming in said toe portion asecond kerf intersecting the plan of the first mentioned kerf andinserting a second spreading wedge in said second kerf.

[Ofiicz'al Gazette F ebruarg 9, 1926.]

